The goal is to provide opportunities for SMEs in the region to develop their products and processes with digital tools.
Goal
The manufacturing industry is undergoing a major transformation towards digital, intelligent, and sustainable manufacturing. The perceived COVID19 pandemic has contributed to accelerating the need for rapid change. This transformation is currently underway not only in Pirkanmaa and South Ostrobothnia but also in allover Finland, Europe and around the world. On the other hand, SMEs in the manufacturing industry lack resources and expertise to plan for the long-term strategic level and to utilize digital tools as part of their R&D activities.
Finland's strategic goal is to increase the amount of R&D investment to 4% of GDP. There are various programs and activities to support this. For these national programs to reach companies, there is a requirement for local SME friendly activities and novel approaches that lower the threshold for companies to make use of digital tools and regional R&D activities and make their use easy and attractive. The activities of this project aim to address these points.
Manufacturing companies, especially SMEs, must be able to keep up with the competition and produce new innovations in different areas of production to increase capabilities. Therefore, rapid investments in digital tools for product development and innovation in the manufacturing industry are now required. In addition, training and knowledge play a crucial role in promoting new innovations from an industrial perspective, from industrial production processes to services and new products. No training activities will be taken in this project, but the training available in the area will also play a key role in enabling companies to meet the innovation needs of their own development and other manufacturing industries.